Built in 1901 for French Olin “F. O.” Smith and Nora (Thornton) Smith, this Queen Anne–style cottage reflects turn-of-the-century craftsmanship in Gonzales. The house is built of cypress associated with the Gulf supply line that brought lumber inland through Indianola, and period details include original hardware and etched-glass doors. Inside, the rooms retain their historic millwork, and grading stamps remain visible on select beams.
F. O. Smith was born August 1, 1871, in Lavaca County, the son of Dr. Robert Lusk Smith and Theresa Smith of Seguin, whose surveyor family migrated from Virginia to Iowa and then to Texas. He married Nora Thornton on May 8, 1894, and they raised five children. Nora’s ancestors settled in DeWitt’s Colony, linking the household to one of the earliest Anglo communities in Texas. In 1905 Smith joined brothers-in-law W. H. Kokernot and Stuart Johnson in a wholesale distributorship for Libby, McNeill & Libby; a fire ended the venture, and he later worked as a bookkeeper for R. A. Walshak in Dilworth.
In March 1917, Mrs. F. O. Smith donated two hundred palm trees to plant along East Avenue and nearby streets: a civic gesture on the eve of World War I that speaks to the family’s community spirit. A late-1970s restoration preserved the cottage’s cypress fabric, etched glass, and period hardware.